Parcast Presents

In 1982, three teenagers were found murdered along Lake Waco. There was very little evidence, but Sergeant Truman Simons had a hunch. And he knew it would pay off. He just needed more time. Learn more...

30 Aug 202247min

Jim Baker might’ve attracted famous diners to his hugely popular restaurants. But “Father Yod,” as he was called, gathered disciples. And they were going to usher in a new age of Aquarius. Learn more ...

25 Aug 202240min

“Keep sweet” was the refrain of Warren Jeffs, the Prophet of a fundamentalist group that broke off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As practicing polygamists, FLDS already drew th...

23 Aug 202238min

In the 1980s, David Koresh was a man with a divine mission. He spent the decade ingratiating himself with a religious sect in Waco, Texas, using his charisma to prey on teenage girls in the community....

18 Aug 202240min

In 1903 a traveling preacher put down roots in Benton Harbor, Michigan to prepare for the end times. Then he built a sprawling amusement park. A traveling baseball team came next. “King Ben” charmed l...

16 Aug 202236min

In Alabama, local Scottsboro man Glenn Summerford turned his back on a life of vice and became a regular church-goer who communed with God. A transcendent experience with a Copperhead snake in the ‘80...

11 Aug 202237min

Listeners, join us for a cross-country tour of America’s infamous cults — starting with Twelve Tribes. They came to the edge of extinction in Tennessee, then had a revival in Island Pond, Vermont. Des...

9 Aug 202236min

When declassified information started hitting the mainstream — thanks to the work of engineers, private investors, and even musician Tom DeLonge — a new era began. One that chipped away at the taboo s...

4 Aug 202244min